Hotel key cards could be hacked
An American security researcher claims to have developed a device that can access millions of hotel bedrooms, worldwide.
Cody Brocious says his home-made gadget mimics a master key card to gain access to any room with an Onity lock and will reveal details at a conference in Las Vegas, according to the BBC.
Onity, which has around 10 million locks in hotels around the globe, said it would look at Brocious's work and address "any potential issues".
"We will review and analyse Mr Brocious's presentation and any other information that he publishes on this subject," the company told the BBC in a statement.
"Onity places the highest priority on the safety and security provided by its products and works every day to develop and supply the latest security technologies to the marketplace."
Brocious said he had used a cable connected to a DC power port below the door lock, and plugged it into a portable programming device he had built for £32.
The device is based on the Arduino operating system and mimics ones used by hotels to control which master keys open which doors.
However, in tests Brocious conducted with Forbes news site, the system did not prove entirely successful - only one of the three doors, at three hotels in New York, opened.
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By Janet Harmer
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